"... TO GIVE UNTO THEM BEAUTY FOR ASHES, THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING, THE GARMENT OF PRAISE FOR THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS; THAT THEY MIGHT BE CALLED TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,THE PLANTING OF THE LORD, THAT HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED." ISAIAH 61:3

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The Power of Prayer

The Prayer At Valley Forge

The account of this particular prayer comes from Isaac Potts, a Valley Forge resident who was 26 year old at the time. Isaac Potts was a Quaker. Like many other Quakers he was opposed to war, and therefore a "Loyalist", one who sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War. The "Diary and Remembrances" of Reverend Nathaniel Randolph Snowden gives the fullest account of Isaac Pott's encounter with Washington praying:

"I was riding with him (Mr. Potts) in Montgomery County, Penn'a near to the Valley Forge, where the army lay during the war of ye Revolution. Mr. Potts was a Senator in our State & a Whig. I told him I was agreeably surprised to find him a friend to his country as the Quakers were mostly Tories.He said, "It was so and I was a rank Tory once, for I never believed that America c'd proceed against Great Britain whose fleets and armies covered the land and ocean, but something very extraordinary converted me to the Good Faith!""What was that," I inquired? "Do you see that woods, & that plain?" It was about a quarter of a mile off from the place we were riding, as it happened. "There," said he, "laid the army of Washington. It was a most distressing time of ye war, and all were for giving up the Ship but that great and good man. In that woods pointing to a close in view, I heard a plaintive sound as, of a man at prayer. I tied my horse to a sapling & went quietly into the woods & to my astonishment I saw the great George Washington on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis, & the cause of the country, of humanity & of the world.Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. I went home & told my wife, I saw a sight and heard today what I never saw or heard before, and just related to her what I had seen & heard & observed. We never thought a man c'd be a soldier & a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington. She also was astonished. We thought it was the cause of God, & America could prevail."

Isaac Potts was not the only man who saw Washington praying at Valley Forge. Another account of Washington praying was recorded in "The Aldine Press" based on the reporter's interviews with those who had fought in the war. In the Aldine article, Washington was seen kneeling in silent prayer in a barn where his white horse was kept. (partyof1776.net)

All those who came to see him before, during, or after the Revolutionary War, knew George Washington to be the Founding Father most likely to be interrupted while praying. This great but humble man set an example not only in word, but in deed.

The distance of time will never erase Washington's example of unwavering faith; in His God, and in the power of prayer. His example is before us still. If we will listen - and REMEMBER.

3 comments:

Angie,Some good background material for me and a good challenge for our remembrance in these days when it seems so many are ready to reject the very foundation of our nation's heritage. Have you seen the musical movie "1776"? Joey and you would appreciate the struggle portrayed in that colonial congress as John Adams Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson hammered out the Declaration of Independence and "fought" for its adoption. I think it came out in 1972.Jim-Dad